Whisper in the Wind
by LeviathanoftheSky
Summary: Hibari blames the constant burning sensation in his chest on his fever. 8018 YamaHiba / implied 5927
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR, because I am not worthy of its awesomeness.

Warnings: Uh… first time writing shounen ai?

Other notes: This occurs after the Ring Battles and before everyone gets stuck in the future.

* * *

Hibari stalked down one of the hallways of Namimori, taking his usual route of aimless patrolling for the day. Like usual, the other students made way for him; some actually turned around and "stealthily" ran away. Unlike normal, today Hibari didn't even glance at his surroundings, already preoccupied with fighting another foe of an inhuman nature.

Hibari Kyoya had once again caught a cold, and it irritated him to no end. He'd usually wait it out and only headed for the hospital if it got too bad; he intended to wait out the current one, but its symptoms, although he didn't admit it to himself, were escalating. As such, this did nothing for his ordinary already murderous demeanor; he swung aimlessly at the air, the student in the way luckily ducking at the last second.

Tsuna and Gokudera stood in his path, apparently unaware of the approaching demon, since they were already busy discussing another more minor problem at hand.

"Where's Yamamoto?" Tsuna asked Gokudera.

Gokudera shrugged, "Who knows. Maybe he's finally realized who is the better right hand man for you and ran off moping somewhere."

"We just saw him in class a few minutes ago, Gokudera," Tsuna replied, frowning.

"Why are so you worried anyway? It's not like Yamamoto will try jumping off the roof again. Maybe he's in the restroom…"

With a quick swing of his arm, Hibari took out the cigarette in Gokudera's mouth.

"Hey! Why'd you do that?" Gokudera snapped. He then tried to insult the other with what he thought was a ridiculous claim and continued, "Do you like Yamamoto or something, trying to defend him?"

The next blow sent him flying across the hallway. Everyone else besides Tsuna ran off, afraid to get in the Head Prefect's way. Hibari approached the Storm Guardian, tonfa raised, as Gokudera fumbled in his pockets for dynamite. However, the raging Cloud Guardian then suddenly stopped, eyes a little dilated as he wrinkled his nose slightly at the sensation in his throat and nasal passages.

"Smoking is not allowed in Namimori," Hibari choked out curtly and walked away. They heard someone sneeze around the corner that the Cloud Guardian disappeared to.

"Gokudera-san! Are you okay?" Tsuna ran over to him.

"Sheesh, what is his problem?" the Storm Guardian growled as he struggled to his feet.

"You were smoking inside the building," the Tenth said, sighing.

"I meant… oh nevermind." Gokudera frowned. He was grateful that Hibari stopped, but it still struck his curiosity how the prefect had suddenly just turned around and left. The sound that came out of the Cloud Guardian's throat also didn't sound normal at all. The Storm Guardian inwardly shrugged. He could care less what was wrong with Hibari.

...

Yamamoto stood on the rooftop, humming aimlessly to himself as he watched a few ominous clouds approach from the horizon. As he expected, a few minutes later the door behind him quietly opened and closed.

"Hey Hibari!" he said as he put on his usual grin and turned around to face the prefect. Said prefect glared at him, and Yamamoto suddenly found himself threatened by a tonfa several inches away from the side of his face.

"Yamamoto Takeshi. What are you doing here?" the Cloud Guardian whispered, his voice deadly and his breath uneven.

'Uneven?' Yamamoto suddenly realized what was wrong with the entire scene. Hibari Kyoya wasn't known to have sudden strange changes in his breathing, let alone restrain from instantly biting someone to death without explanation or adequate warning.

Hibari wanted to bite the other to death, he really did. Yet, he pulled away and stalked off to the water tower where he would most likely not be disturbed by the herbivore he had just spared. 'Not in the mood…' he justified his inaction.

"Oi Hibari, are you okay?" Takeshi called after him, making him turn around. The Rain Guardian reached for the other's forehead. "You're a little red."

Suddenly panicking, the Cloud Guardian swatted the hand away, and Yamamoto swore the red he saw just deepened a few shades. 'What the hell was that?' Hibari thought. 'When did…' He had never been concerned with physical contact before; he actually enjoyed the feeling of bones breaking against his hands and blood on his fingertips.

"Eh, Hibari?" he called the other.

"Get away from me!" the prefect said calmly and turned to leave.

"Wait!" Takeshi grabbed his wrist, making him freeze. Hibari was sure of it now; his muscles ached and stung even more from touch. The swordsman noticed the sudden tenseness and let go. "Hey, I just wanted to say thanks for saving me the other day during the Ring Battles. That's all." He smiled. "Um… sorry for bothering you! I'll be going then!"

Hibari didn't look as the other ran off, closing the door behind him. He looked at his wrist, flexing his fingers experimentally. 'Damn fever…' Hibari looked over Namimori and shook his head. 'Maybe a nap will make it go away… I'll go to the hospital afterwards if it does get worse…'

...

"Hey Yamamoto! Where were you?" Gokudera asked, irritation lining his voice. "We were going to leave without you!"

"Ah, sorry," Yamamoto laughed. "I had to take care of something." As they reached the front gate, he glanced back at the school. 'Hibari was acting stranger than usual…'

...

"The typhoon will pass over Namimori for an estimated three days. We advise everyone to remain indoors…" the television blared downstairs.

Yamamoto stared outside his window, his math homework untouched on the desk in front of him. 'I wonder if Hibari's still at school…' He shook his head. "Nah, he's probably biting someone to death on the streets or something at this time," he assured himself out loud, returning to the book in front of him.

A few minutes later, a tap against his window made him look up. 'Rain…'

He sighed again and tried to regain his focus on the numerous numbers and symbols before him. Meanwhile, the rain outside began pounding on the roof, on the street, and even against his window. 'Can't concentrate…' He gave up, abandoning his homework.

Yamamoto grabbed his jacket and umbrella and headed downstairs.

"Hey! Where are you going?" Tsuyoshi asked. "It's pouring out there!"

"I'm just stepping out for some fresh air," his son answered, grinning. "I'll be back soon."

"Okay! Don't come back too late!" The door closed. "Ha! That's my son! Training in this kind of weather!" Tsuyoshi said dotingly as he pulled out his trusty sashimi knife.

...

Yamamoto found himself on the rooftop, rain practically sliding off his umbrella like he was under a waterfall. "I guess he really isn't here…"

"Hibari! Hibari!" he heard a familiar chirping above him.

Yamamoto looked at the water tower above the door. 'Could it be? No way…'

Regardless, he climbed the ladder to the water tower and found a mass of black and white with a familiar red and gold arm band curled up on the floor, soaked to the bone. He was used to the prefect sleeping in the middle of nowhere, but never in this position or in this type of weather. It was almost as if he were shivering…

"Hey! Hibari!" Yamamoto called out, reaching out to him. 'Damn! He really is shivering!' The little bird jumped around the Cloud Guardian worriedly, trying to avoid the rain but unwilling to leave until it was sure that Hibari was okay. The Rain Guardian felt the other's forehead. It was burning.

"Shit!" He took of his jacket and wrapped around Hibari.

'What should I do? His hands are freezing…' The sky roared again threatening lightning, and Yamamoto lifted him up and hurried back home.

"Back already?" his father called out when his son came crashing through the door, trailing water and mud inside.

"Can you grab some of my dry clothes from my room?"

"Huh?" Tsuyoshi looked over to his son and finally noticed the bundle of clothing he carried in his arms. "Friend of yours?"

"He's running a high temperature," Yamamoto explained as he placed Hibari on a futon in their spare room.

...

Hibari opened an eye and found himself in unfamiliar territory. He bolted upright, looking around. It was still raining outside, and someone had changed his clothes. He observed the room with a wary eye; this definitely wasn't the hospital. It was a Japanese styled room; he was in a futon, and the ice bag that had slid off when he sat up lied limp beside him.

"Hey! You're awake!" The voice made him look up. He watched the other like a hawk as Yamamoto made his way across the room and set the steaming covered bowl down next to the futon. Hibari froze when the other felt his forehead. "Oh, you're still a little warm," Yamamoto said, frowning.

Hibari sprang backwards away from the other's touch, half tripping over the covers and ended up with his back against the wall.

"Huh? Did I hurt you?" Yamamoto asked, worried.

Hibari looked away, shaking his head. He wasn't used to this much attention. His heart pounded fiercely, and he felt the sweat on his clammy hands. "I…" He swallowed, trying to regain his voice. "It's nothing…"

"Oh, okay." Yamamoto got up. "I'll just leave your food here. You should eat it before it gets cold."

The door slid shut behind the Rain Guardian, and Hibari slowly felt his own forehead, noting the presence of the fever. 'It's just the fever…' he concluded mentally.

...

Yamamoto returned later, slowly opening the door. He chuckled in relief to see that the prefect was back in the warmth of the futon, asleep, with an empty bowl next to him. Yamamoto tiptoed to the futon and took the bowl when a noise at the window made him look up. A yellow ball of fluff pecked at the window as the wind tossed it mercilessly about.

"Hey there," he whispered to Hibird as he opened the window, letting the bird in. "I have to keep the window closed to keep out the cold; you don't mind staying here, do you?" The bird gave him a peck of gratitude on the cheek.

After ruffling its feathers to shake off some of the water, Hibird flew over the Hibari and landed right in front of his face on the pillow.

"You'll wake him up," Yamamoto whispered, putting a finger to his lips.

As expected, Hibari, who wakes even to the sound of a falling leaf, opened his eyes and saw a yellow ball of fluff a few inches from his face. "Hey…" he said sleepily, smiling. He petted the bird softly before letting sleep take him again.

'Oh…' Yamamoto felt his face go red, feeling that he just witnessed something he shouldn't have. He excused himself to get some food for Hibird while said bird settled on the pillow, warming itself from the cold wind and rain outside.

...

"How's the food?" Yamamoto asked during the evening as he watched the other slowly eat.

"Passable," came the response.

"Ah ha ha! That's good to hear," he replied, grinning. He glanced at the window; the rain wasn't relenting. "The forecast said it's going to stay like this for another two days or so."

Hibari made a sound of acknowledgement.

"If you want to, you can stay here until then. It's not like your fever's going to go away for at least another day." When Hibari didn't respond, he stood up to leave.

"Why…" Hibari suddenly said, making the other stop.

"Huh?" Yamamoto turned around.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Well, friends help friends, right?" Yamamoto said, grinning awkwardly.

Hibari put the bowl down. "I'm not your friend."

"Sure you are. Oh… I think I hear the water boiling," Yamamoto left, half running.

"Hibari!" Hibird called out, landing on his shoulder.

Hibari touched the area over his heart lightly. 'Saying that… Why does it hurt?'

...

"Hey Takeshi-kun! Is something bothering you?" Tsuyoshi asked.

"It's nothing," Takeshi answered, grinning as usual. Of course there was something bothering him, but it's not like every son could tell his father that he suddenly thought his guy friend was cute. Also, when Hibari told him that he wasn't his friend… that hurt too…

"Oh come on. I know something's wrong. Is it that kid you brought back?" He hit the target.

"Maybe," Takeshi tried to avoid the question.

"I should serve him some of my great sushi!"

The Rain Guardian didn't expect that. "Should we even be feeding someone who's sick sushi?" he exclaimed.

"It's decided! Let's prepare fatty tuna!" his father declared, ignoring him.

"Wait! Dad!"

...

"Uh… sorry; Dad insisted…" Yamamoto said awkwardly as he gave the plate of sushi to Hibari. The prefect eyed it for a second before eating, picking up a red-lined white piece of fish first and placing it in his mouth. His eyes lit up slightly and a soft blush made its way across his face.

'He likes kanpachi? That expression's kind of cute…' Yamamoto caught himself. "Um… I'll go get you some tea to go with that," he excused himself.

Hibari watched silently as the other left. 'I…' He looked away from the door.

Yamamoto returned a few minutes later with the green tea he promised, one for Hibari and one for himself. Their fingertips touched when Hibari took the cup Yamamoto, and the former would have dropped the cup if Yamamoto had not clasped it tightly again at the last second.

"Ah, sorry," Yamamoto said, chuckling. "And I work at the restaurant too."

"No, it's…" Hibari stopped. He never considered anything his fault, so he prevented himself from apologizing. He took the cup from Yamamoto, this time making sure to not touch the other's hand.

"Hey Hibari?" Yamamoto said after a few sips of the tea. "Are you allergic to me or something?"

This caught the other by surprise, and the Cloud Guardian looked at him with a half-glare half questioning expression.

"I mean… every time I try to touch you, you either freeze or jump away."

"It's just the fever," Hibari muttered.

"Oh yeah! I haven't thought of that," Yamamoto said, smiling. 'That does explain it… people get achy and cranky when they're sick, right?' However, he admitted to himself that it didn't explain why he suddenly felt a slight pang of disappointment in his chest.

Hibari refused to meet his eyes afterwards, always looking past him or at his hands. The food that Yamamoto always carried with him when he came in the room helped hide the other's act of avoidance. And thus it continued for the remainder of the typhoon.

...

"Hey Baseball Idiot! You there?" Gokudera said, waving his hand in front of the other's face.

"Huh?"

'Okay, he definitely wasn't here,' Gokudera thought. "What's up with you these days? You're daydreaming more than usual."

"Ah, I was just thinking," Yamamoto said, grinning.

"About school? That's weird. Stop it."

"Nah."

"Then what?"

He laughed awkwardly. "Hibari."

"What?"

"Has Hibari-san been bothering you?" Tsuna asked.

"Yeah! You've been like this ever since after the typhoon! Did the rain knock something lose?" Gokudera added.

"Nah. It's nothing. Don't worry about it," he said, putting on his usual grin. Yamamoto decided that it was irrelevant to tell the other two that he brought the Cloud Guardian to his house and nursed him back to health during the few days he didn't see Tsuna and Gokudera.

...

Hibari looked out at his school from behind the gate on the roof, enjoying the strong wind that blew all around him. Familiar territory, his territory, comforted him. The door opened. He waited until Yamamoto was a few feet behind him and sprang, tonfa lashing out. The swordsman sidestepped and caught the weapon, just like that time before the Rain Battle. Hibari remembered now. That sudden feeling of lost control from this herbivore was… he couldn't put words to it, but that was when it started.

"Hey! I just want to talk!" Yamamoto said, grinning. Hibari glared at him and wrenched the tonfa away but didn't strike again. The other Guardian scratched his head awkwardly. "Um… I'm sorry; I probably should have brought you to the hospital the other day, but it was raining pretty hard so…"

"Thank you." A whisper in the wind.

"Huh?"

Hibari looked him in the eyes and broke away, clenching the metal in his hand until he could feel his palms burn. He knew the fever was gone; the thermometer read 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit two days ago. He felt the warmth again on his face, in his chest, a burning sensation…

He closed his eyes.

_These feelings… I will not acknowledge them…_

* * *

Author's note: Should I continue? I might take a while updating though due to life… and lack of ideas…

PS. Reviews raises probability of updates exponentially (wink).


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR, because I am not worthy of its awesomeness.

* * *

'That expression…' Yamamoto watched as Hibari opened his eyes, refusing to meet the Rain Guardian's own.

Metal dropped to the floor, clanging against the cement as a hand clutched the fabric over his heart. It burned. Their eyes met again, and the pain intensified. 'Why…' Hibari was no coward, but he couldn't take it anymore, this sensation, this burning, that was so alien to him. He ran.

"Hibari!" Yamamoto called out after him. Within a second, the door shut behind the other, leaving the Rain Guardian alone on the rooftop with a pair of tonfa abandoned on the floor. Frowning a bit, he bent down and picked up the weapons, testing their weight in his hands, and ran after the prefect.

"Hey, where are you running to?" Gokudera said when Yamamoto almost crashed into him in the hallway. He spotted the tonfa in the other's hands and grinned. "Wow! You actually stole them from him? No wonder you're running!"

"Ah, that's not it," Yamamoto replied, chuckling. "Did he pass by here by any chance?"

"Are you crazy? Look around you!" The Rain Guardian realized that people still filled the hallway, walking and talking in their usual casual manners. If Hibari had indeed run through the area, then no one would be standing where they were now.

"Ciaossu!" They turned to see Reborn on the windowsill.

"Oh, hey kiddo!" Yamamoto greeted him. "Did you happen to see…"

"Try that corridor," Reborn pointed.

"Thanks!" Yamamoto ran off.

"What's up with him?" Gokudera hissed.

"Eh? Where's Yamamoto going?" Tsuna asked, joining the group. His eyes widened when he saw the objects in his retreating friend's hands. "Ah! Why'd you make him take Hibari-san's tonfa?" he exclaimed to Reborn.

"That wasn't me," the Arcobaleno replied.

'How did I miss this?' Yamamoto thought when he entered the directed hallway. He assumed that it would've looked worse if Hibari had been possession of his weapons, but nonetheless, there were enough students knocked out on the ground to justify that the other had been in the area. The Rain Guardian finally found himself standing outside the Disciplinary Committee room.

'Maybe he's in here.' He took a deep breath to calm down and reached for the door handle.

Another hand stopped his action, keeping Yamamoto from opening the door. "Are you here to see Kyou-san?" Yamamoto looked over to the familiar vice-president of the Disciplinary Committee. As usual, the other seemed calm enough, chewing on a piece of grass.

"Uh…" Yamamoto didn't know how to explain the Head Prefect's behavior to Kusakabe. "I came to return his tonfa?" he said, unsure of his choice of words.

"Ah, I see." Kusakabe said, sighing. "Let me give them back to him. Kyou-san doesn't want to see anyone right now."

"Thank you." He handed the tonfa to the vice-president of the Disciplinary Committee, feeling the metal slid from his hands. 'That's right… he always has these with him…' Yamamoto suddenly tightened his grip, instinctively unwilling to let go.

"Uh…" Kusakabe began.

"Huh?" he wasn't aware of the involuntary contraction of his own muscles. "Oh, sorry." Yamamoto let go, grinning. "I guess I don't know my own strength. Say hi to Hibari for me, will you?"

Kusakabe nodded. "Of course."

Yamamoto waited for a moment, watching Kusakabe eagerly, who didn't budge. 'Looks like he's not going in until I leave…'

"Uh, bye then!" Yamamoto said, grinning, and ran off.

The vice-president made sure that the other was well out of sight before opening the door to the committee room. "Kyou-san?"

Hibari sat at the desk, chair turned around so that he faced the window. "I'm going out today," he announced quietly.

"Okay, I'll take care of things here." Kusakabe placed the tonfa on the desk. "Yamamoto-san wanted to return to these to you, and he said 'Hi.'"

When Hibari didn't answer, Kusakabe bowed. "I'll take my leave then." The door closed behind him.

The Cloud Guardian turned his chair back to the desk, staring at the tonfa. He rested his elbows on the desk, feeling his forehead. 'I'm just sick…'

...

"There's a what?" Tsuna yelled. After school, Reborn requested that Yamamoto and Gokudera go to their boss's house for an important announcement regarding some orders from Italy.

"Another rival gang from the next city over," Reborn repeated calmly. "It's nothing to worry about. They're just one of the smaller factions that want to make it big."

"Oh, phew," Tsuna said, relieved. "I thought we'd have to…"

"So they've decided to take over Namimori in a few days time," Reborn continued.

"What?" Tsuna really didn't count on fighting for a long time after the end of the Ring Battles, but with Reborn, he reprimanded himself for showing surprise.

"Oh, so you want us to get rid of them, right?" Gokudera asked, excited. He turned to Tsuna. "Don't worry! Leave it to me!"

"No, I…" Tsuna began. He especially didn't want any of his friends hurt again because of this whole mafia business.

"Yeah, don't worry about it," Yamamoto said cheerfully. "We'll beat all of their players no problem!"

"It's not a game, Baseball Idiot!" Gokudera yelled.

The Tenth sighed. "Thanks, guys…"

...

Hibari raised a tonfa to the doctor's throat in annoyance.

"I… I'm not lying! There's… there's nothing wrong with you!" the older man stuttered. Hibari lowered his weapon, knowing that there was no reason for the doctor to lie. The man adjusted his glasses nervously. "Whoever took care of that fever did a really good job…" he added, thinking that a compliment would help his situation. He decided immediately that it wasn't one of his brightest ideas regarding the rare patient.

Hibari slammed the tonfa into the doorframe before leaving, his footsteps echoing loudly in the hallway as he stalked away.

"Doctor! Are you okay?" one of the nurses asked after the "patient" was long gone.

"I… I'm fi… fine," the doctor stuttered, standing up. He had slid to the floor and covered his head to shield himself from any blows. Frankly, it amazed him how he came out of this without a scratch, although the hole in the door frame could count as a slash on his wallet.

"What happened this time?" she asked, curious.

"Hibari-san just asked me to check his temperature…"

...

"Hey! Are you spacing out again?"

Yamamoto came back to see Gokudera's face in front of his. The Rain Guardian had half fallen asleep during class with his head up and didn't hear the lunch bell.

"What's wrong with you?" Gokudera asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Ah, nothing," he replied, laughing. "I just couldn't sleep last night."

"Did you study for once?"

"Nah, I just… had a lot on my mind. That's all," Yamamoto said, grinning like usual.

"Is it a girl?" Gokudera nudged him.

"N… no! Why would you think that?" The casual grin turned to one of embarrassment.

"You have this strange expression," Tsuna offered.

"Strange?" Yamamoto repeated a little airily.

"I don't know… like you've flown off somewhere." He paused. As much as he'd hate to admit it, he could really never quite shake off that fear after the stunt Yamamoto pulled a year ago on the roof. "If there's something we can do, just tell us, okay?"

"Ha ha! Thanks, you guys." He smiled again. "But really, I'm fine," he assured them.

...

Yamamoto threw his backpack on the floor and slumped to the ground, pulling his hair in frustration. "I think I'm in love," he lamented out loud.

"Really? With who? Took you long enough!" his father laughed, suddenly opening the sliding door.

"Huh? I didn't say anything!" Takeshi exclaimed.

"Nah, I can tell even if you didn't just yell it out to the world a few seconds ago," Tsuyoshi laughed.

"Oh… um…" Yamamoto searched for an explanation in vain.

"Is it that kid?" his father hit the mark instantly.

"What! Wait a sec…"

"It's okay." He smiled.

That caught Yamamoto off guard. He expected some type of lecture: on him liking another guy, on love, on… anything but reassurance. "Huh?"

...

Yamamoto paced back and forth on the rooftop as he held an inward debate with himself. 'Dad said I should just tell him… but he doesn't know how Hibari is like… what if he throws me off the roof… baseball practice is at 4 today…' He groaned and crouched down, holding his head in frustration. "Maybe this is a bad idea…" he muttered.

The door opened. 'This is not going to end well…'

Hibari jumped at him, pulling out the tonfa from under his sleeves. Luckily, or unluckily, it can be viewed in both ways; Yamamoto had enough sense to bring his baseball bat this time and blocked the attack. "Is this really necessary?" Yamamoto asked, chuckling.

The Cloud Guardian didn't answer, and instead broke the stalemate, lunging for his unwilling opponent's stomach. Yamamoto swung the bat down to counter the blow, replacing wood with metal as the katana form activated.

The corners of Hibari's lips curved upward; this was the Yamamoto he wanted to see, the natural-born hitman of Vongola Tenth's Guardians. The fact that he had pushed the Rain Guardian far enough to bring his sword out made the Head Prefect want to fight even more, even if it were only to distract him from the sensation that already started biting in his chest. But, this was Hibari; he fought for the sake of fighting. The distraction was only an added bonus.

"No no! I didn't come here to fight!" Yamamoto said when he saw the feral grin on the other's face. This didn't faze him, as Hibari swung again, this time at Yamamoto's head. 'How… how can I get him to listen?' Yamamoto thought, his frustration building.

The Rain Guardian dodged and rolled away. 'Why… me… him… Why does it have to be him?'

They were in a stalemate again, tonfa on katana. Hibari broke it this time by kicking the other in the stomach, knocking Yamamoto to the ground. "Stand up and fight me seriously," he snarled.

'It…' Yamamoto stared at the other for a moment and struggled to his feet. 'I can't take it anymore!' Metal met metal once again, and Yamamoto used his heavier weight to throw both of them to the ground. The sword was at Hibari's throat, and not to his surprise, he felt the other struggle to break free. 'No! I don't want to hurt him!'

They were breathing heavily, and Yamamoto stared at the one under him. 'Those eyes…' Hibari glared back, refusing to break eye contact, his eyes filled with pure annoyance at his current predicament; he reminded the Rain Guardian of a captured bird. Yamamoto couldn't take it anymore. He leaned towards Hibari and…

"I love you," he whispered softly in the other's ear. Hibari froze. 'Did I get my message through?' Yamamoto thought, surprised. However, a tonfa suddenly connected with his face and sent him flying off. "Ow…" he chuckled as he rubbed his face. "Is that a no?" he asked.

Hibari opened his mouth to answer, but instead glared at him and slammed the door behind him, the doorframe almost catching his trailing jacket.

...

"Wah! Yamamoto, your face!" Tsuna gasped, pointing at the obvious bruising.

"Funny, I was almost rejected," Yamamoto said, chuckling. The entire ordeal left him in a state of dazed denial, and he had forgotten that he didn't really want to tell his friends what was going on. Gokudera poked the bruise, making the other flinch. "Hey hey! It hurts!"

"No girl can slap that hard," the Storm Guardian concluded. "What are you hiding?"

"Ah, nothing!" the grin dropped, replaced by a slight frown as Yamamoto realized how close he was to spilling everything. "Really!" he insisted.

"Is it Hibari-san?" Tsuna asked quietly.

"What? Yamamoto's not…" Gokudera began.

Yamamoto stopped him. "Please, I'll take care of it myself. Don't worry about me." He left before the other two could press him further on the matter.

...

Yamamoto let out a long sigh as he chopped off the fish's head. It didn't help when he realized it was kanpachi.

"What's wrong?" his father asked.

"Ah, nothing…" he replied, trying to smile.

"Got rejected?"

He gave up. "I'd like to talk about something else, please."

Tsuyoshi chuckled. "Well, it's too early to know for sure, right?"

"I guess…" Yamamoto frowned.

"Give it some time," Tsuyoshi consoled him. "You're both probably a little confused."

...

He rammed his tonfa into the guy nearest him as the other gangsters circled around. Another ran at him, knife raised and ready. Hibari dodged the weapon easily and smashed the other's face in, feeling and hearing the sound of cracking bone. Three of them attempted attacking him at once, and he easily struck each down.

He licked his lips, thrilled by the feeling of blood in his hands and on the metal. It wasn't ideal, but it was a good enough distraction.

...

"What now?" Tsuna asked. Again, Reborn decided to call a "meeting" at his house.

"It seems that Hibari's just eliminated half of that gang I was talking about the other day," Reborn replied.

"That's great!" Tsuna said. 'I know I can always rely on Hibari-san,' he thought happily.

"Tch," Gokudera looked away. "If I had decided to go after them, then they'd all be eliminated by now."

"Did you tell him?" Reborn asked, ignoring Gokudera.

"Huh?"

"Because they weren't even in Namimori yet. They were positioned at a warehouse close to Namimori. It's highly unlikely that Hibari would just go looking for them if they weren't inside the city."

"Oh…" both Yamamoto and Tsuna said at the same time.

"What are you 'oh'-ing about?" Gokudera asked.

"Hibari?" Tsuna answered, confused.

"No! I meant Baseball Idiot here!"

"Eh… nothing," Yamamoto said. "Ah, I promised Dad I'll be home early today, so I'll see you guys tomorrow." He smiled reassuringly.

"Oh, okay. Be careful on your way back," Tsuna told him.

"I'll be fine!" Yamamoto assured him, grinning, and left the room.

"Why'd you tell him to be careful?" Gokudera asked, annoyed that Tsuna didn't say that to him last time he left early.

"Ah… just a feeling…" Tsuna replied, frowning.

...

'Ah, who am I kidding?' Yamamoto thought, sighing as he walked down the street.

'It's not like he'll ever like me back…'

"Hey kid!" a voice snapped him out of his reverie. "Do you know where the nearest post office is?"

"Oh, just head down that street and turn left…" He felt a little uneasy as he explained, but he couldn't quiet place his finger on it. The post office wasn't too far from their current location, but the directions were a little complicated. "Do you need me to repeat anything?" he asked when he finished.

"Nah, thanks. You've been a real help to us…" the teenager smiled. Yamamoto suddenly looked the other over more thoroughly, realizing that there was a knife hiding just slightly behind his jacket.

'Us?'

"Well, actually, you're _going _to be a real help to us." Suddenly, someone placed a piece of cloth over his mouth, and Yamamoto immediately realized his mistake. 'Shit… it's them…' he thought as his consciousness slipped away.

...

"Where the hell is he?" Gokudera exclaimed.

"Maybe he's just sick," Tsuna offered. "I don't see why we have to check here…"

"This is the only other place that lovesick idiot can be!"

"Wait, we can't assume that Yamamoto's really in love!" Tsuna said, flustered.

They opened the door to the Disciplinary Committee room and found it empty of any Yamamoto's. However, there was Hibari, who stood at the desk with piece a paper in his hand.

"Eh… Sorry for disturbing you!" Tsuna quickly said, bowing. The other eyed them slowly, as if he was searching for something. The Cloud Guardian threw the paper on the desk and walked off silently; Tsuna hastily made way for him, pulling Gokudera along.

"What's up with him?" Gokudera snorted as Tsuna moved cautiously to the table and the suspicious piece of paper. "Hey! Looking at other people's stuff is a job for me; don't trouble yourself…"

Tsuna froze when he read the letter, and the Storm Guardian took it from his hands.

"We have one of your friends. Go to Warehouse X alone if you want him returned safely. We will discuss a payment method in person," Gokudera read out loud.

Tsuna stared into space before the realization finally struck him. "Wait! That's why Hibari-san was looking at us; he was searching for Yamamoto!"

"What has that Baseball Idiot gotten into now?" Gokudera sighed. "Let's go."

* * *

Yo! Thank you so much for reviews! T_T I'm so touched.

This will be a 3-4 shot (not sure yet) so there's 1-2 more chapters coming up. Ah, I'm going back to school tomorrow, so updating might be slower than usual unless I procrastinate on homework (which happens often). So, stay tuned! (I know they use this phrase for T.V. shows; is there one for fanfiction?)


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR, because I am not worthy of its awesomeness.

Note: Thanks Akimoto-Teme XD! I will add a slight side pairing of 5927. Not too much though because I want to focus on 8018.

* * *

Yamamoto heard voices as he slowly came to. He blinked once, then twice, and realized that someone had tied a blindfold over his eyes. Slowly, so that whoever occupied the room or warehouse with him wouldn't notice, he tested his other limbs experimentally, feeling handcuffs restraining his hands behind him. The metal clinked, making him flinch.

'Crap…'

"Hey! I think he's awake!" one of the men said.

'Okay, maybe I shouldn't try anything yet…' he thought. Panic normally didn't form easily in Yamamoto's pool of emotions, but right now, the smallest of hints bit away at him.

"Funny, we were debating on who to kidnap when one of ours happened to remember you carrying your little boyfriend home the other day," another spoke, laughing.

Yamamoto felt his face flush. "Eh… he's not my boyfriend," he muttered, wishing that they had put a bag over his head or something to cover the blush.

"Shut up!" The first man hit him across the face, right over the bruise Hibari had given him the other day. His face now burning from two reasons, he decided it was best to stay on the floor and fake unconsciousness. It worked, for the most part.

"Hey! Le… let's just wait until the demon actually comes, okay?" another one of them stuttered nervously. "We… we're supposed to keep him alive until then."

"Sheesh, fine." He heard them walk away, probably towards another section of the warehouse.

'Tsuna? Shoot… What kind of a Guardian am I?' He debated on attempting to escape, since his legs weren't bound, and tried to get to his feet. He took a few cautious steps only to walk headlong into a metal storage box. 'Okay, nevermind…'

...

"Why would they kidnap Yamamoto and then give the note to Hibari?" Tsuna lamented as they ran towards the directed warehouse near the outskirts of the city.

"Something must be up with those two!" Gokudera replied, frowning.

"Ciaossu!" Reborn greeted them as he landed on Tsuna's head, causing the teenager to nearly fall.

"Wah! Reborn!" Tsuna yelled as he tried to regain his balance. The Arcobaleno jumped off right when he crossed the threshold between balance and falling, but a hand caught him.

"Hey be careful!" Gokudera said, helping Tsuna to his feet.

"Thanks…" the future Vongola boss replied, flustered.

"It seems that Hibari is willing to take care of the gangsters for you," Reborn told them.

"Huh? Wait, he's really heading there right now?" Tsuna asked, surprised.

"I changed my mind. You don't have to go. Let's see how he does," Reborn said, smiling.

"Ugh, Yamamoto is there too! We have to…" Gokudera began.

"Let him take care of it," the Arcobaleno enunciated firmly. "If you want to do something, then call the hospital and get them ready."

...

One of the gangsters stood outside of the warehouse, sighing as he absentmindedly smoked on his cigarette. "What's taking him so long?" He suddenly saw a flash of black and white with a glint of metal before red poured into his vision. Hibari hit him one last time over the head, knocking the kidnapper into his own pool of blood on the floor.

The Cloud Guardian flicked the red liquid off his tonfa before walking into the building. As he expected, a group of intimidating looking guys in their teens with knives and a few guns surrounded a blind-folded, hand-cuffed Yamamoto, a gun pressed up against the back of their captive's head.

They pulled the blindfold off of him and repositioned the weapon to the left side of Yamamoto's back, right over where they assumed was the heart. The Rain Guardian blinked several times to readjust his eyes to the light before spotting Hibari.

"Uh… hey Hibari," Yamamoto said, smiling awkwardly before the owner of the gun pushed it harshly against his back, causing him to shut his mouth.

The leader, Hibari assumed, spoke, his tone arrogant and smooth. "Now we're going to be blunt. This is our turf now, so you gotta make a decision." He nudged his head to Yamamoto. "It's your choice: hand over Namimori or your friend here dies. I'll give you a few seconds."

Hibari flinched, processing the statement, and his eyes narrowed at the mention of the word "friend." He thought that he already made it clear that the lone bird of Namimori had no "friends." He didn't understand why it bothered him so much, but he wanted to make it clear.

"He's not…" Hibari began.

"Hey, don't worry about it," Yamamoto suddenly interrupted, chuckling, earning another shove in the back.

"Keep quiet! Damn, we should've gagged you too. You talk too much." The man looked at Hibari. "Well, which one would it be?"

Hibari assessed the situation for a split second. The answer should've been obvious, but he considered the fact that Yamamoto was also part of Namimori, a student to be exact. So in a way, he concluded, they just provided him with a choice between two of the same things. Furthermore, it wasn't like he would actually keep his promise to hand over Namimori; he wasn't known for keeping promises because he never made them to begin with, except perhaps with a certain Arcobaleno. He couldn't believe he was even debating the current decision in his head. Then again…

Their eyes met, and Yamamoto grinned reassuringly. Hibari felt the strange warmth well up in his chest again, this time almost comforting. He frowned. He didn't like it, but he decided that he'd rather not let the other die; after all, the Rain Guardian could be a potentially worthy opponent for future spars.

However, before Hibari could say anything, Yamamoto suddenly threw his head back, ramming the top of his skull on his captor's chin. He then spun around and kicked the man as Hibari immediately grasp the situation and sprang at the others, tonfa ready for the kill.

'Damn, fighting without hands suck,' Yamamoto grimaced as he attempted to kick the gun out of the reeling man's hand. He missed, and the man took the chance to reposition the weapon towards the greater of the two threats that currently had his back to him: Hibari.

A gunshot rang out through the warehouse as Hibari lashed out with his tonfa on the last of the men standing, sending the guy down in a rain of dislodged teeth and blood. He whirled around in time to see another struggling to his feet and pointing the gun at Yamamoto, finger already tense at the trigger. In a flash, the Cloud Guardian struck the man down, first knocking the gun away by breaking the arm, and then landing the near-fatal blow to the ribcage, feeling a barrage of cracking bones on the metal.

"Ow…" The sound came from the Rain Guardian.

"Yamamoto Takeshi," Hibari called his name, not too keen on accessing the damage the bullet might have done.

The Rain Guardian's familiar cheerful voice answered him, but Hibari could easily hear the pain in the sound. "Um… do you think you can find the keys to this thing?" Yamamoto asked, trying to keep the casual reassuring smile on his face despite the fact that the other had his back to him.

Losing no time, Hibari found the keys to the handcuffs in the man's pocket before kicking him aside. He deliberately avoided looking at the other as he inserted the key in the lock and turned. The metal opened and fell limply to the ground, making a series of soft clangs in the warehouse.

"That's a lot better; thanks…" Yamamoto said, sighing and slowly turning around.

Hibari kept his gaze down at the other's feet. 'Why… Why do I avoid looking at him?'

Hibari froze when he felt the other's arms around him. "You're not hurt, right?" Yamamoto, his voice now barely a whisper and his head close to Hibari's ear like that time on the rooftop, asked. Hibari could feel the warm breath on his ear and closed his eyes, trying to calm his beating heart. The feeling was warm, almost protective with a definite sense of endearment. It was strange.

"No…" he answered also in a half-whisper. He could almost imagine Yamamoto smiling stupidly at the wall behind him.

"Good." The hands fell and the other's head slumped on his shoulder.

"Yamamoto Takeshi?" He whispered, a lump in his throat. He opened his eyes and finally saw the pool of blood that was spreading across the left side of the other's back.

...

"If I wasn't the Tenth boss of Vongola, then these things would've never happened to you guys!"

"Don't be stupid! If you weren't the Tenth, then we would've never met! I can't even imagine a life without you in it…" he stopped. "Uh… sorry…"

"That was…" Tsuna, his eyes wide, began.

"Extremely cheesy, I know," Gokudera said, blushing.

Tsuna remained silent for a moment before a warm smile graced his features. "Thanks."

"Huh? Are you agreeing with me?" The blush deepened. "Does that mean…"

"If you're going to talk, do it outside," someone interrupted.

"Ah! Sorry, Hibari-san!" Tsuna said, flustered while Gokudera looked away, annoyed.

'I'll get him for ruining my time with the Tenth!' the Storm Guardian though fervently, clenching his fist.

A doctor came out of the operating room, spotted Hibari, and went directly to him, ignoring Tsuna and Gokudera, who fell silent to listen in on the new development.

The doctor kept his voice low and solemn, but his nervousness still crept through, "The bullet was fairly close to his heart. We have to perform surgery on him to remove it…"

"Then why are you out here?" Hibari asked, glaring at him.

"Well, we've managed to contact his father, but the others are having trouble with the insurance company. They won't operate until they're sure, and the chance of survival is very slim…" A tonfa suddenly rested on the side of the doctor's neck.

"Tell them I'll double the surgeries needed if they don't start this instant," the Cloud Guardian, his voice low and deadly, whispered.

The doctor smiled. "Of course, I'll tell them that you have it covered." Hibari removed the weapon and the other scurried quickly away.

'Scary!' Tsuna and Gokudera thought in unison.

"Um… Hibari?" Tsuna said timidly, making his Guardian turn to him. "He'll be okay," he assured him. Hibari looked away, instead concentrating on Hibird, who flew in the room silently and landed on the prefect's finger.

...

Yamamoto woke up, expecting anyone besides Hibari in his white hospital room. The Cloud Guardian was standing by the window with Hibird balanced delicately on one of his fingers, pecking at a few seeds on his palm. The bird looked up, seeing Yamamoto, and flew over to him, chirping, "Takeshi! Takeshi!"

"Hey hey! You're supposed to address people by their last name," Yamamoto chuckled, holding out a hand for Hibird to land on. Instead, the bird settled comfortably in his hair, still chirping his first name. He tried to pet it, but a sharp pain in his chest made him drop his hand. "Ow ow," he muttered, moving his robe slightly to study the bandages.

"Why…" Hibari asked, and Yamamoto looked up, realizing that Hibari had finally said something.

"Huh?" Yamamoto answered, surprised.

"I asked 'Why?'" Hibari replied, irritated that he had to repeat the question.

"Well, I want to say that I didn't want you to make a decision that you'll regret, but when it comes down to it I… I guess I just didn't want to hear you say no," he chuckled awkwardly.

"And you expect me to believe that that made you reckless enough to risk getting shot." It was not a question.

"Well… yeah…" Yamamoto replied, frowning a little.

Hibari drew his tonfa. "Fools will be bitten to death."

"Wait! Hey, I'm still injured!" Yamamoto said quickly as Hibari came closer, the sunlight from the window reflecting off the metal. A gentle breeze flew through the room as Yamamoto closed his eyes, bracing for the attack. Instead, he felt warmth near his ear, a breath.

"I don't like being in debt to others," Hibari whispered before drawing away; Yamamoto relaxed when the Cloud Guardian didn't slam the door.

"Debt?" Yamamoto said, confused. "Oh! He didn't bite me to death when he would have!" he concluded.

"Takeshi!" Hibird chirped happily before taking off.

"Hey wait!" Yamamoto called after it, wondering if it could understand him. To his surprise, the bird turned back and flew to him, this time landing on his outstretched finger.

"Takeshi!"

"Um…" Yamamoto hesitated, and grinned, making up his mind. "This is really cheesy but…" he gently raised the bird to his face and kissed it lightly on its beak. "Can you give this to Hibari please?"

"Hibari! Hibari!" the bird replied enthusiastically, flying off and returning to the outside through the opened window.

"Is he gone?" the Rain Guardians suddenly heard hushed voices outside and wondered what they would've thought if they just walked into the room when he kissed Hibird.

"Yeah, I just saw him leave."

"Oh, okay. Thanks." The door opened and the doctor came in. "How are you feeling?" he asked nervously, wondering if Hibari had added any new wounds to the patient.

"Pretty good; just my chest…" Yamamoto replied.

"Ah yes, you were very lucky; I'm sure your two friends would tell you all about it. They wouldn't leave until they were sure you were okay."

"Oh! Tsuna and Gokudera?"

"Is that their names? Well yes, they're waiting outside right now. You can see them as soon as we're finished with the checkup."

"Thanks!" Yamamoto said, grinning.

"There's one more matter I would like to discuss, and I've already passed the message on to your father, so it should be fine." He took a breath, sighing. "All expenses are taken care of, so you don't need to worry. Feel free to ask for anything during your stay here, although I'd prefer it if you didn't abuse the privilege."

"Huh?" Yamamoto gaped at the man. Hibari popped into his mind. 'Is this how he 'paid off' the debt?'

...

"Yamamoto!" He looked up at the sound of his name to see Tsuna and Gokudera entering.

He grinned. "Hey! What's with the long faces? I'm okay now!" he reassured them.

Gokudera would have whacked the baseball player over the head if Tsuna hadn't been holding his hand, partly because he wanted to and partly because he knew his Storm Guardian would probably do something impulsive if not restrained. Instead, Gokudera settled with yelling, "How the hell were you so careless? Getting shot… What would the Tenth do if his Rain Guardian somehow got…"

"Okay! I was blocking a bullet meant for Hibari," Yamamoto finally blurted out. He didn't want to tell the Cloud Guardian earlier, and he was sure that Hibari didn't know exactly what went on. He figured he had harmed the other's pride enough by making the decision for him back at the warehouse. Yamamoto realized his mistake and tried to bow, "Please don't tell Hibari."

"Eh? Why would we do that? He doesn't know yet?" Gokudera asked.

"No… he just thinks I got shot because I… uh… I got shot."

"Then we should tell him! The bastard needs to owe others stuff for once!"

"Ah! Don't!" Yamamoto pleaded. A familiar melody entered the room from the window and they turned to see Hibird fly away, singing the Namimori Anthem. Upon closer inspection, Gokudera noticed a little recorder tied to the bird's leg. He smirked.

"Okay, fine, we won't tell him."

"Eh? Really?" Yamamoto noticed that Gokudera was looking at the retreating Hibird. 'What's that black thing on his foot?'

The Storm Guardian followed the Rain Guardian's eyes to the bird and suddenly said, "Oh yeah! I almost forgot! Your dad dropped by earlier and told us to give you this!" He ran outside and brought in a huge boat of sushi, effectively distracting Yamamoto from Hibird.

...

"How the hell were you so careless? Getting shot…"

"I was blocking a bullet meant for Hibari…" the voices echoed a little statically out of the recorder. Hibari stared at the object incredulously for a second before slamming a hand on the desk in frustration, making the bird jump from its place on the table.

"Sorry…" he said to Hibird, petting it. Suddenly, Hibird flew up to his lips, and lightly pecked it before flying back to his finger. "Huh?"

"Takeshi! Takeshi!" Hibird answered before it started to sing.

'What was that?' he thought as a slight blush made its way across his face. He shook his head, trying to get rid of the burning. "I'll bite him to death later."

...

He refused to visit after the first time, instead spending the days as far away from the hospital as he could get, mainly staying in Namimori High or roaming the streets on the other side of town, biting random people to death that got in his way or crowded too much.

Despite his efforts, even now without the other's presence, he felt uneasy. The burning no longer hurt; it just ached, and he wondered why. He remembered how it would only appear whenever Yamamoto crowded around him, but now it dominated his every waking moment and even his occasional dream.

Hibari closed his eyes, feeling the night wind blow on his face.

"_Yamamoto Takeshi?" he whispered, a lump in his throat. He opened his eyes and finally saw the pool of blood that was spreading across the left side of the other's back._

_He froze as he felt the rare emotion of panic paralyze him. Gritting his teeth, he shoved the feeling aside and started to half drag the larger student out of the warehouse. Yamamoto's breath was shallow against Hibari's neck and fading. _

"_Damn it! Don't you dare die on me!" Hibari yelled at him. He opened the metal door to the outside world to find Tsuna, Gokudera, and Reborn waiting with an ambulance._

_He was in the ambulance with Yamamoto; Reborn told the others to walk to the hospital. Hibari stared absentmindedly at Yamamoto, keeping the cloth firmly pressed on the wound like the paramedic told him to._

"_Hibari?"_

_Hibari snapped out of his reverie and looked at Yamamoto. 'He's delusional…' he concluded._

"_Hey Hibari… just in case I die… I love you…" Yamamoto said, the impossible grin forming on his face._

_The Cloud Guardian stared incredulously at the other for a moment. His eyes narrowed. "You're not dying until I bite you to death myself."_

Hibari placed a hand over his heart again, feeling the pulse under his skin. He knew. He knew all along what was wrong with him, but refused to acknowledge it. Hibird landed on his shoulder, chirping his name.

"I understand now…" he whispered to the wind as a rare smile graced his lips, small but genuine.

...

Yamamoto walked cheerfully through the familiar hallways during lunch on his first day back, making a beeline for the roof.

"Hey! I knew you'd be up here!" Yamamoto said, his usual grin plastered on his face, as he walked into the open. Hibari turned around, a look of what Yamamoto would have defined, if it had been anyone but Hibari, as surprise on his face. The Rain Guardian scratched his head awkwardly. "Um… I was thinking about it again, and I figured that I really want to know your answer. So… please… tell me truthfully…" He spotted the recorder in Hibari's hand and slowly came to a realization.

Hibari followed the other's eyes to his hand and blushed. "Go get kidnapped again!" he yelled, flustered. To be truthful, he was just so sure that he had repaid all debts to Yamamoto before he got the recorder. Even now, it bothered him that the other had saved his life, and now Yamamoto knew that he knew.

"Eh, that's kind of hard," Yamamoto chuckled. He moved closer. "So do you have an answer yet?" he urged.

Hibari glared at him, refusing to say anything. 'Aw that expression's so cute,' Yamamoto thought as he leaned in. The other put a hand on Yamamoto's mouth, preventing Yamamoto from kissing him.

'So it's no…'

"This is not considered payment for taking that bullet," Hibari muttered.

"Huh?"

Hibari removed his hand, sliding it around Yamamoto's head, and brought his face down, letting their lips lightly touch.

"Hm…" Yamamoto muttered thoughtfully in the kiss. 'Soft…'

"You're too tall. Grow shorter," Hibari suddenly said, thoroughly embarrassed by the action he had suddenly impulsively taken and pulled away slightly.

"Stop requesting impossible things, will you?" Yamamoto chuckled, leaning in and taking Hibari's lips again.

"No," the Cloud Guardian muttered. He wasn't going to let the other win, even if Yamamoto was taller. Besides, Yamamoto belonged to him and only him.

The burning went away, and he felt warmth, pure loving warmth. He closed his eyes, breathing it in, tasting it on his tongue, feeling it on his lips.

It was a beautiful spring day. The wind picked up as Hibird flew into the air, singing the Namimori Anthem for the two on the rooftop.

_-Owari-_

* * *

Hibird rocks. Argh! The fluffiness!

Okay, so I'm a bit of a crack writer, so as I was writing this, random cracky moments kept on popping in my head, but they would've destroyed the mood if I added them hehe. So… this story is technically finished, but there will be a fourth chapter of omakes and pure crack "what-if's" coming up. Read if you dare. I think I'll do an extra like that for any other non-humor stories I write, just to ruin the "floaty happy angst or whatever" feeling. They could be long or short, depending on how much craziness I come up with and how much time I have. Look at my profile for more comments and thoughts.

Oh, and it would probably not be up for a while… I don't know, just finished my two tests and caught a cold in the process so sleeping might be a good thing to do…

Ignoring that, if you choose to stop reading here, here is my expression of gratitude for reading. Thank you so much for reading! See you next time! XD

The story is officially complete! Whoot!


	4. Omake

Disclaimer: I do not own KHR, because I am not worthy of its awesomeness.

Okay, so the structure of this chapter is chapter number with the title of the random whatever short scene followed by a line in italics for time context and finally the scene. Have fun!

* * *

-Chapter 1-

Extra: Predator and Prey

_(Hibari put the bowl down. "I'm not your friend.")_

Takeshi froze for a few seconds as he shuffled through his vocabulary for a more proper word to describe their relation to each other. Unfortunately for the both of them, Yamamoto's thoughts stopped on an old game the girls used to play in elementary school that he had overheard several times in his youth.

Without thinking, he said out loud, "Lovers?"

"Do you want to die?" Hibari asked him, glaring at him. If he hadn't been sick, he would've hit the other the moment the word left Yamamoto's mouth. Then again, the shock from hearing such a word also made him immobile at the moment.

"Eh? What did I say?" Yamamoto asked blankly. After all, he was only going down a list of words and had already forgotten. He figured the next word might work better. "Acquaintances? That doesn't sound right though; we're not that distant." He frowned. "Married? No… wait what's the next word in that list…"

Hibari finally realized that the other was really just going down a list of terms and wondered if he should let the other come to a "logical" conclusion himself or if he should hit it into him.

Yamamoto stopped when he remembered the next word. "Enemies?" He looked at Hibari a little nervously. "No, right?"

The other glared at him before sighing. "No."

Yamamoto put a hand up to his chin, thinking hard about the last word. "Soul-mates?" he remembered.

"No!" The sudden reflex caught both of them off guard, making Yamamoto jump, and Hibari freeze. The Rain Guardian laughed good-naturedly and sat back down. "Okay, I'm out of terms. What are we?"

Hibari looked in the other's eyes, wanting to glare but seriously tired of the conversation. His head was burning, his chest was burning… even his face was burning for more than one reason. He broke the staring contest and lied back down on the pillow, facing the other way.

"You're an herbivore," he muttered.

Yamamoto laughed. "Okay. Then what are you?"

"Predator," came the half-asleep reply.

...

-Chapter 2-

Crack: Math and Medicine Part 1

_(Hibari raised a tonfa to the doctor's throat in annoyance.)_

"Say that again," the Cloud Guardian threatened, eyes flashing.

The man adjusted his glasses expertly and cleared his throat. "Well, according to my calculations, there is a 10.8 percent chance that you have the flu, but you of course recovered from that already, so there is a 22.3 percent chance that you have heat stroke, and a 78.19 percent chance that you're in love."

Hibari stared incredulously at the doctor a few seconds, eyes narrowing as he added the numbers in his head. He decided that he needed practice adding numbers with decimals; he had plenty of mental exercise from adding the number of people he beat up each day, but that was whole numbers. "That doesn't add to 100," Hibari finally muttered, a little unsure of himself.

"Of course it doesn't! I just made up the numbers!"

You can guess what happened next… Use your wonderful imaginations and just envision something between an egg tart and red marshmellows. Why? I don't know; those foods just suddenly popped into my head just now. Think pulp.

...

Extra: What Really Happened…

_(Hibari opened his mouth to answer, but instead glared at him and slammed the door behind him, the doorframe almost catching his trailing jacket.)_

Hibari opened his mouth to answer, but instead glared at Yamamoto and stomped off the roof, door trailing behind him from the shove he gave it. At that moment, the prefect was suddenly faced with the fact that wearing a jacket loosely on one's shoulders and letting it fly behind like a cape wasn't all that smart. The closing door caught the sleeve of the prefect's jacket, effectively wrenching the cape-like trademark off the teen's shoulders.

Yamamoto stared at the visible two-inches of sleeve protruding from the closed door blankly before he realized that a serious of fading thumps followed the closing door. Seized with a sickening drop in his stomach, the Rain Guardian wondered if he should open the door to see if the other was alright. Then again, if Hibari was instead still conscious after falling down the stairs, Yamamoto would most likely receive another blow to the stomach.

Right when he decided that he would go look to see if the other was okay, another serious of thumps stopped him as Hibari stomped back up the stairs, promptly removed his trapped jacket from the door with a violent wrench, and stomped back down the stairs and away.

Again, Yamamoto found himself staring blankly at the door, amazed that the other had so "gracefully" returned up the stairs and retrieved his jacket without ever letting the Rain Guardian see him. He held a hand up to his mouth, stifling a chuckle as he imagined the faint blush of embarrassment that may or may not have painted Hibari's face. It was too cute.

He wondered how many more blows he would receive from the other if Hibari were to ever hear that adjective from him.

...

-Chapter 3-

Crack: The Gun

_(A gunshot rang out through the warehouse as Hibari lashed out with his tonfa on the last of the men standing, sending the guy down in a rain of dislodged teeth and blood. He whirled around in time to see…)_

"What the hell?" the leader yelled as Yamamoto slowly opened an eye. A little white flag was protruding out of the barrel of the gun, the words, "I surrender," written neatly on the fabric. "Which idiot ordered the guns this time?" the man exclaimed as he turned around to see everyone else bleeding on the floor, courtesy of Hibari Kyoya.

A swift blow to the head took care of the rest.

...

Crack: Math and Medicine Part 2

_("Tell them I'll double the surgeries needed if they don't start this instant," the Cloud Guardian, his voice low and deadly, whispered…)_

The doctor adjusted his glasses expertly with a finger on the bridge. "Sir, we would only need one more patient requiring such medical attention for the number of surgeries to double. Since we get so many customers a day, such a feat isn't really of persuading material. Furthermore…"

A tonfa on his neck stopped him for a second but didn't faze the doctor, and he continued ranting as if his life had no meaning. "Seriously, children these days need to learn how to multiply. Given that each day our hospital receives an X amount of patients, Y percent of which need surgery, actually doubling of surgeries required is another Z number of surgeries, but I'm assuming that you know that your friend inside the room right now is the only surgery we're performing, so you would only double his surgery, which only equals two; now tell me, what is eight times eight?"

"What has that got to do with anything?" Tsuna exclaimed from the sidelines.

The doctor adjusted his glasses again. "Exactly, therefore, you actually don't need to double the amount of surgeries by causing me any harm, and in return, I will take care of all expenses for you."

Hibari lowered the tonfa. "Fine."

'Huh? How did they come to that agreement?' Tsuna and Gokudera thought at the same time.

* * *

Note: Hey! For some reason, right after Spring Break I got a huge rush of tests and homework… Argh, horrible horrible. Anyways, this is the end for this story. Thanks for reading!

Predator and Prey – There was this love compatibility game thing we used to play during elementary school. If I remember correctly, we took the two people's names, crossed out all double letters, and counted what was left. Then we would cross out the letters one by one on the word FLAMES, or something like that. I think a google search should make it clear. Anyways, F is Friends, L is lovers, A is Acquaintances, M is Married, E is Enemies, and S is Soul-mates.

Math and Medicine – Yes, the guy was semi-inspired by Inui Sadaharu from Prince of Tennis.


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